Photo: Zoo Bomb

Pedalpalooza

It seems appropriate that this massive, two-week celebration of bicycles should take place in Portland, Oregon, the center of quirky bike culture’s universe. Pedalpalooza has 215 events for adults as well as families. Bizarre events include the Jesus Cycle Procession, a bike self-defense class, and the Pretty Panty Ride.

Zoobomb

Now in it’s seventh year, this weekly begins at the Portland Zoo and involves a legion of mini-bike riders speeding downhill at up to 35 miles per hour. Zoobombers follow ‘leave no trace’ practices and encourage participants to take the MAX to the Zoo to cut environmental impact. Riders are encouraged to use safety equipment, such as helmets and lights.

Photo: Rat Race – Photo By: m500

Zoobomb’s organizers put on a number of other events throughout the year, including the Zoobomb Century in June, where participants ride mini bikes on various looped courses for 100 miles, and Mini Bike Winter in February.

Tour de Fat

Organized by New Belgium Brewery, the Tour de Fat is a mobile bike festival that meanders through 11 western cities every summer and fall, bringing live music and costumed bike parades. This year’s route begins in Chicago and winds through Washington, California, and six other states before ending in Austin.

New Belgium donates all profits from beer sales at the event to cycling and environmental non-profits.

Tour de Donut

Illinois’ spoof of the Tour de France, the Tour de Donut is a 30-mile bike race with two optional donut stops along the route. Riders who choose to stop receive a five-minute time deduction for every donut they consume.

Since the original race began in 1989, two others have started, one in Texas and another in Ohio.

Photo: Pedalpalooza – Photo By: Hive

Critical Mass

Part celebration and part protest, Critical Mass began in 1992 in San Francisco as a way to draw attention to the unfavorable cycling conditions of the city’s streets.

Today, some 300 cities around the world host their own version of the ride, in which large groups of cyclists gather informally to promote bikes as an alternative to cars.

Critical Mass riders sometimes employ traffic-blocking tactics, and events have been known to turn violent. In response, some cities have begun to hold more courteous versions of the ride.

World Naked Bike Ride

Mostly self-explanatory. The World Naked Bike Ride is a lighthearted, clothing-optional event with the aim of drawing attention to cycling as a sustainable alternative to car travel. The ride takes place every year in June or March.

Alleycat Races

More a type of event than a ride, alleycat races are DIY urban races with roots in the bicycle messenger community. Alleycat races usually involve traveling to various checkpoints, reflecting the nature of a bike messenger’s work day.

Photo: Big Wheel Finale – Photo By: wablair

Urban Assault Ride

This New Belgium-sponsored race/scavenger hunt takes riders in teams of two to various urban checkpoints, where they must perform ridiculous challenges in order to move on to the next checkpoint.

Checkpoints may be completed in any order, and the first team to hit them all wins a pair of shiny New Belgium cruisers. The event culminates in, of course, a beer garden and festival with more wacky obstacles.

Community Connection

Interested in learning about other organized rides, or training for your first big multi-day ride? Check out more articles on Matador Sports, category Bicycles.

Photo by Ryan Knight

There are many different ways to approach sponsorship. My first sponsor, Smith Optics, came along when I was 16 and was only a product-based endorsement. Still, this allowed me to reference that affiliation when approaching other companies for representation.

No matter what sport your trying to pursue sponsorship in it is important to understand a few key factors:

You’re a marketing asset.

When talking with a company, look at their sponsorship as a marketing investment and act accordingly. That means at all times you are to represent and support the company that is endorsing you in any way.

At the same time “marketing” is one of the first places to face budget cuts, which is why you must make yourself a valuable asset to the company to insure longevity.

How can I be considered valuable to a company?

Longevity within a company will come with dedication to the brand, a strong showing of involvement within one’s industry, and a consistent flow of action, whether it is video or photos. Companies that are endorsing athletes love to be in close contact, and it is important to keep them regularly updated with what projects your involved in.

If the brand you represent hosts events it is important to try and attend, but if not, at least help promote the event.

Photo by Ryan Knight

Being well rounded also helps, companies love to see your hands in a little bit of everything so don’t only be known in your sport, branch into other industries like music, other sports of interest, and most important the community you grew up in.

What’s in a Blog?

Blogging has blown up and is now considered a standard for any serious athletes. I started the Shasta Boyz Productions blog a few years ago and it has been a key factor for my successes in the boating industry.

It’s important to have a place to post your current adventures and show off your stuff. Pics, video, and product updates are common and sponsors love to see regular activity.

A great example of a blog well done is my good friend from World Class Kayak Academy, Evan Garcia. His blog egcreekin.blogspot.com has current updates and links to some of the better blogs in the boating community.

EG’s blog has been such a success because of his regular updates and consistently impressive content.

Understand the different levels of sponsorship.

There are many different types of sponsorship. In the beginning of your career the majority of sponsors will give discounted gear or if you’re real good, free gear.

This will change over time as your reputation grows and your value as an athlete increases. As you become better known, you will start to get free gear as a norm and move into the photo incentive zone.

When established at this level, you can expect to receive small payments for photos in magazines depending on the agreement with the endorser. Travel stipends come next and are related to as support while on a filming mission or travel money during competition season.

The final stage is when an athlete is fully endorsed with gear and is receiving a monthly or yearly salary from a company, which typically requires you to attend specific events and or competitions around the country if not the world.

Don’t underestimate word of mouth.

It is important to achieve success but not show it off. One major fault of many athletes is ‘knowing’ how good they are. Don’t worry about how good you are, just focus on where you want to see yourself with the path you are given.

People will hear about what you are doing simply through word of mouth or through interest in your character. Being a role model in one’s industry is key and never forgetting your roots will insure longevity and respect in your sport.

There is no need to tell people what you do, just let them find out on their own.

The bottom line. . .

It comes down to living without limitations while still knowing and respecting your abilities. If you want something there is no reason that you can’t achieve it, all it takes dedication and finding the right connections.

In any industry it’s who you know, not what you know, so it’s important to talk to the right people and be up front about who you are and what you want to do.

It’s hard to picture yourself where you want to be, but with consistent motivation and belief in yourself it can make anything possible. Free yourself from mental constriction and you can push you body further than you could ever imagine.

Community Connection

Check out Shon’s sponsors:

Photo by Erik Boomer

*Shasta Base Camp
*Sanuk Sandals
*Level Six
*Hippy Tree Clothing
*Electric Visual
*Helmet Camera Central
*Astral Buoyancy
*GoPro Cameras
*Caliproduct
*Snapdragon Sprayskirts
*Riot Kayaks
*Six Six One Protection

To learn more about Shon, check out his Athlete Profile, and read his recent review of the 3 top helmet cams on the market.

Photo: Ed Yourdon

Distance running has long been a love of mine, but when I mention this to friends or acquaintances, they typically respond with skepticism about their own running abilities. Reactions like these have always frustrated me, because I believe almost anyone without chronic joint problems can at least complete a 5k.

Here’s some advice to help those who’ve never even finished a single mile turn their legs into distance-covering machines.

Start slow and short

Most people assume that there’s no way they can run five miles, or even one, right away. They’re correct.

Their error is supposing that runners start out with thousands of meters at a time. The key is to start slow and increase incrementally.

You can measure yourself in distance (go for a half-mile) or time (15 minutes). Don’t worry about how small it may seem, just begin with what you can do and go up from there.

Photo: Photocapy

Be consistent

While many guides recommend that beginners use a combination of running and walking, I firmly disagree.

Pick a distance, and then run the entire way. This will help condition both your body and mind toward running for continuous stretches.

The largest factor in determining your success in knocking down mile after mile will be your ability to be consistent. If you run once, maybe twice a week, you’ll most likely never see any improvement. Try to run three to five times a week, with some rest days between each run.

Keep this up for a month or two and you’ll be amazed by how far you can go.

Don’t get discouraged

Once you’ve settled into a routine, don’t be discouraged by the occasional bad day when you find yourself completely lacking in energy and strength.

Many factors can go into this, including lack of sleep, what you ate yesterday, the weather outside (the sun will become your worst enemy, I promise), and your level of hydration. The important thing is to adopt a schedule and stick with it. Push yourself through those tired days and you’ll feel even better when you finish.

Besides its health benefits, running provides plenty of personal bonuses. My own favorite is the feeling I get after a long run on a bad day. The solitude of the trail, the sweat in my eyes, the rhythm of my feet, the effort and exhaustion – it wipes away all other frustrations.

It’s therapy and it’s free, so go get some.

Photo: Akunamatata

A few more tips:

–Pay attention to your breathing. Try to keep your breath steady: in through your nose, out through your mouth.

–Concentrate on your stride. Focus on maintaining a calm, even pace. A stable, economical stride will maximize your performance.

–Being a smoker is not an excuse. Take it from me: I’ve run three half-marathons and had a cigarette to celebrate finishing each one.

Community Connection

Caught the long-distance bug? Read about some of the world’s longest footraces in Through Heaven and Hell: Ultramarathons That Go Beyond Human Limits.

All Photos: Peter Gene

Most volcanoes would have to erupt to get as much attention as Cerro Negro gets. For the past four years, travelers have come this peak in western Nicaragua to try their hands at volcano boarding, a new adventure sport that transplants duneboarding onto the slope of an active volcano.

Volcano boarding started with Darryn Webb, an Australian tour guide and duneboarder based in the nearby city of León. In 2005, Webb began running volcano boarding tours from his Bigfoot Hostel. All the while, Webb continued to refine his gear, finally settling on a sled-style board made of metal and Formica-reinforced plywood.

Since then, volcano boarding has exploded in popularity. Bigfoot now takes groups to Cerro Negro four days a week, with tours often selling out. After the 45-minute climb to the top of Cerro Negro, guests don goggles and bright orange jumpsuits and get a quick lesson in technique before blazing down the slope at speeds of up to 68 km/hr (42 miles/hr).

Other tour operators offer their own spins on the activity. For $33, León’s Va Pues Tours gives guests the option of carving down Cerro Negro on one of their stand-up boards, though they do suggest that riders have previous snowboarding experience.

Safety first

While spills are common, both Bigfoot and Va Pues said that no one had ever sustained a major injury on one of their tours.

“The only possible problem is a little gravel rash on the bottom of arms and legs,” wrote Bigfoot manager Gemma Cope via email. “Nothing too serious.”

Then there’s the danger of eruption. Cerro Negro is Central America’s youngest volcano, and is still active, erupting as recently as 1999.

While the possibility of eruption is all part of the thrill for many visitors, tour operators say that the threat to participants in minimal. According to Cope, Bigfoot works closely with the national park’s staff to stay updated on any tremors in the area.

“We are also on the volcano every day, so we would see the changes prior to an eruption,” wrote Cope. “The risk of an eruption is not an immediate issue for us.”

Community Connection

Have you tried volcano boarding? Want to try it? Tell us about it in the comments section below!

All photos: REAL Kiteboarding

Kiteboarding is a sport that uses a large kite to transfer an everyday thrill-seeker into a full-blown superhero, soaring through the air as high and far as the wind will allow. On any given day, lesson centers across the world are swamped with former windsurfers and board sport junkies eager to learn how to kiteboard.

Interested? This three-step guide should help you get started.

1. Instruction

Even gifted athletes will benefit from lessons –you’ll progress quickly and safely with modern gear and professional instruction. Depending on where you live, this might be a good excuse to do some traveling.

One of the best spots for learning in the US is Cape Hatteras in North Carolina where you’ll find steady winds and shallow, calm water. But a quick search on the Internet will pull up schools all over the world, from Texas to Thailand.

2. Gear

The best way to get started is with a trainer kite and an instructional DVD. The trainer kite is a much smaller version of the kites you’ll use later and will hone your kite skills. An instructional DVD provides an opportunity to visualize the sport and give a preview of what you can expect to learn in your lessons.

Once you’ve taken lessons and are proficient in the sport, you’ll need to buy a bigger, inflatable kite. Those of us who are hooked on kiting have a quiver of at least three kites -small, medium and large- to increase our chances of having the appropriate size kite for the wind conditions.

Your next purchase is a board. Rather than picking up any old wakeboard, choose a modern kiteboard to cut through chop and ride upwind with ease.

3. Practice

You’ve taken lessons and you’ve bought gear – now it’s time to go home and put on a show.
The more you practice your kite skills the better off you’ll be.

Even if the wind is light, you can still fly your trainer kite on the beach and work up to the larger, inflatable kite as your skills improve. When the wind picks up, you’ll hit the water confident in your abilities.

Taking it one step further

Kiting is not exclusive to water. Consider kiting in the winter on large fields, frozen lakes and even mountainous terrain on skis or a snowboard. On land, use a landboard –a giant skateboard with off-road tires- or a three-wheeled buggy.

One of the best aspects of the sport is the kiteboard community. No matter where you choose to ride, you’ll find a friendly group of kiters of all ages and backgrounds who will help you launch or land your kite and chat on the beach after your session.

Community Connection

Have some tips for new kiteboarders? Share them in the comments section below!

If you happen to find yourself in Auckland, New Zealand this week, you’ll no doubt feel the “rugby fever” spreading throughout the city. The Tri Nations Rugby Series is one of the world’s premier rugby events that brings together the top three teams in the southern hemisphere – Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa.

You probably won’t have enough time to decipher all the rules of rugby so here are a few scenarios you just might witness out on the field in case your buddy invites you to watch your first ever rugby game.

1.Scrum – Easily the most spectacular display on the field, the scrum is done to restart the game after it has been interrupted.

2. Here’s what the scrum looks like up close.

3. Ruck – Not to be confused with a scrum, a ruck occurs when a player has been tackled to the ground, and his teammates need to secure the ball back.

4. This is probably what happened right before the ruck. Watch the bald guy in the middle get low into position, ready to tackle the oncoming player.

5. After a scrum or ruck, you might see players pause while another (usually shorter) player picks up the ball and passes it. The scrum half is the quarterback of the game and directs the flow of the ball between the big, burly forwards and the taller, leaner backs.

6. What happens when the ball goes out of bounds? You’ll see a guy called a touch judge raise a flag up and point towards the team that gets the ball back.

7. Even more spectacular than scrums are line outs. Once the ball goes out of bounds, the receiving team has to throw the ball back in, giving the competing team an equal shot at the ball.

8. You will see massive pile ups of bodies at various times during the game.

9.So what happens in a scrum? The scrumhalf (“quarterback”) throws the ball into the open area and both teams compete for the ball with just their feet, kicking it back through their tunnels so the scrumhalf receives the ball behind his team’s last player in the scrum. Sounds complicated but you’ll quickly figure out the logic during the game.

10.Rarely would you find rugby players getting into a brawl on the field. After all, it’s a hooligan sport played by gentlemen. If you do witness a fight, don’t fret. They always make up after a couple pints of beer at the rugby clubhouse.

Photo: clarque

The International Surfing Association (ISA) World Surfing Games will be held this year in Playa Hermosa, Costa Rica from August 1st to 8th. The 2009 Games will be the 8th edition of the tournament and the first to ever be held in Central America.

Playa Hermosa is a heavy, hollow beach break located a few miles south of the city of Jaco on the Pacific coast. The main peak, where the contest will be held, is widely considered one of the best waves in the country. It should be firing throughout the event with August being one of the top months of the year for south swells.

The ISA is expecting somewhere around 40 countries to be represented. Australia is clearly the team to beat, having won the gold medal the last three events, and four of the eight events in the history of the Games since 1996.

Photo: Spencer Klein

This year, the Costa Rican team is looking to finish strong on its home turf. The US, Brazil, and South Africa, the only other countries besides Australia to win gold in the Team competition, all did so while hosting the tournament.

The Costa Ricans also achieved their first ever Top 10 finish in international competition in the 2006 Games, placing a respectable 8th.

The atmosphere across Costa Rica’s surfing community right now is one of anticipation and pride. Jose Urena, President of the Costa Rican Surf Federation (FSC), attributes the opportunity to host the games to the fact that the FSC has been one of the few countries to attend all the ISA commitments with a full team and staff.

“It is the best thing that could happen to a country concerning surf,” Urena said.

For those in the area, the event will definitely mean an unusually crowded beach. But one of the best things about Hermosa is the stretch of excellent beach breaks to the south, called “Tulins.” which stretch all the way down to Boca Tusurbes.

Additionally, anyone considering making the trek might consider picking up a copy of The Surfer’s Guide to Costa Rica & SW Nicaragua for additional information on nearby breaks.

For those who won’t be able to hop a plane south, event sponsor Billabong will be offering a free live webcast during the event. The webcast, which will reportedly reach an audience of 80 million people across the globe, and will be available at www.billabong.com.

Community Connection

Planning to hit up Playa Hermosa? Check out our article How to Paddle Out to a Famous or Localized Surf Break and Get Respect.

Photo: ndanger

Miles ridden on the course: 202.25

Miles ridden to the starting line from home: 3.5

Number of registered riders: 10,000

Hours of sleep the night before the ride: 3.5

Miles ridden on day one: 136.7

Miles ridden on day one before I reached the outer limits of my sanity: 110

Miles of uphill distance: 30.87

Feet of altitude gained on hills: 1,951

Feature photo and photo above by ebis50.

Months spent training for ride: 6

Mileage of my longest ride before STP: 70

Knees injured during training: 1

Ibuprofen pills taken for knee pain over two days: 10

Ibuprofen pills taken for knee pain that actually helped: 0

Oldest rider on the course: 87

Youngest rider: 2 years, 4 months

Approximate number of people twice my age who passed me: 1,500

Number of states represented by registered riders: 46

Number of countries and territories represented: 7

Riders who have participated in 20 or more STP rides: 51

Number of STP rides I’ve participated in: 1

Number of riders seen on a unicycle: 1

Number or riders seen on a Razor Scooter: 1

Number of riders seen on a skateboard: 1

Number of men riding New Belgium cruiser bikes in flip flops: 4

Number of men riding New Belgium cruiser bikes in flip flops with 12-packs of Fat Tire strapped to their bike racks: 2

Photo by firepile.

Number of men seen wearing animal tails attached to their bike shorts: 2

Number of women seen wearing bunny ears on their helmets: 1

Number of volcanoes passed on the route: 3

Number of volcanoes visible on the route: 1.5

Rain showers ridden through: 2

Dead, smashed birds seen on roadway: 7

Dead, smashed birds seen on roadway that I accidentally ran over: 1

Number of unidentifiable road kill: 4

Course maps seen dropped on road: 5

Melted Clif Bars seen on course: 12

High temperature on first day: 90

High temperature on second day: 67

Hours spent on the course over two days: 22

Hours spent driving home after the ride: 3

Dreams had on the drive home in which I’d ridden only half of STP: 1

Weeks until next 200-mile event: 5

Community Connection

Interested in getting into long distance group rides? Check out Megan’s guide on How to Train and Prepare for Your First Multi-day Ride.

All Photos by Derek Crowe

Adrian Hayes is an adventurer’s adventurer. In 2007, the Dubai-based explorer joined one of Earth’s most exclusive clubs when he became only the 15th person in the world – and the fastest person in history – to achieve the “3 Poles”, reaching the summit of Mt. Everest and walking unassisted the entire way to both poles.

Not content with these record-breaking feats, Hayes recently teamed up with Canadian adventurers Devon McDiarmid and Derek Crowe to attempt to traverse the full length of Greenland, from the Atlantic Ocean on the south coast to the Arctic Ocean on the north coast, in order to draw attention to global warming and the damage it’s doing to the polar ice caps.

Using the power of the wind to kite ski and haul 150 kg (330 lb) sleds over a 3,500 km (2,175 mile) route that has never been done before, the Emirates NBD Greenland Quest is set to be the longest unassisted Arctic polar journey in history. The trio left in May and, at the time of writing, have 800 km (497 miles) to go.

The day before I chatted to Hayes via satellite phone, an entry on his blog revealed that the expedition was starting to run into problems. It talked of near misses with deep crevasses, winds blowing in the wrong direction, and low food supplies:

Where are you right now and how are things?
 
We are still around the Arctic coast. We’ve actually had a tentative few days. The landing point is still 800km away and we’ve got bad winds, crevasses, white-outs…to be honest, it’s not going well.

We hadn’t seen a single crevasse on the main ice cap, just from a few right at the beginning. Then yesterday we almost hit this massive, seemingly bottomless cavern during a white-out. We only managed to stop about ten feet from it.

To cap it all, Devon also fell into another crevasse just five meters from our tent. His legs were suddenly left dangling in thin air, but he managed to find a grip with his arm. Needless to say he was quite shaken.

Sounds frightening. Are there precautions you can take for these kinds of risks?

  Well you can rope up, but it just slows you down so much. So you end up just trying to minimize risks and being cautious. But this has reminded us that on a 1,600 meter [5,249 foot] deep ice cap you really have to be careful.

To be honest the wind is now our biggest problem. We’re kite skiing so we need side-on winds for the sail to go forward, or winds from behind if they’re strong enough. If they’re blowing from the front, which they are now, you can only go left or right. To give an example, we managed 71 km [44 miles] in distance last night but only actually pushed 20 km [12.4 miles] forward.

And you still have a way to go too.
 
That’s our problem. We have 800km to go with only 16 days worth of food. To walk that would take 40 days – more because the more you walk, the more food your body needs.

So there’s a lot of strategic thinking right now. We have a meteorological expert helping us out, and we have certain strategic measures we can employ. We have a lot of fuel left and we are already starting to cut down on food.
 

So what kind of preparation goes into an unsupported trip like this?
 
We prepped for about a year and a half before we set out, which wasn’t actually very long. What made it good is that we all had different areas of knowledge and responsibility. Derek is a photographer and a kiter. Devon is good with systems, food and fuel. I’ve done the sponsorship, logistics and communications.

The key thing was equipment, which is essential on these kinds of unsupported trips. It’s the little things: your personal communication kit, your medical kit, the food bags, the way you keep things dry.
 
I’m guessing the trip has been pretty physically demanding.
 
Well, kiting isn’t as taxing as physically hauling sleds, which is what I’ve done on previous trips. But you might be doing it for up to 24 hours sometimes, and you’re sleeping rough, eating freeze-dried food…it takes its toll.
 
There must be a lot of repetition involved, in terms of tasks and scenery and whatnot?
 
Definitely. The whole thing is repetition. In terms of views there’s white ice cap, blue skies and each other – and that’s it. There’s no diversity at all. Other adventurers, like climbers for example, often can’t handle these kinds of trips as they’re used to constantly changing landscapes. The mind has to be attuned.

What about protection against Polar Bears?
 
We have a rifle with some slugs. We haven’t seen any yet, but Qaanaq, our final destination, is apparently crawling with them. We have bangers to scare them off too, so we’re hoping not to use the rifle of course. In fact we didn’t want to bring a gun at all, but we were strongly advised to do so.
 

A big part of this trip is to make a strong environmental statement, right?
 
Yes. Along with our sponsors, which include Emirates NBD Bank, Ozone kites and charities like BioRegional and One Planet Living, we’re helping push the movement for sustainability. In a nutshell, we’re highlighting the melting Greenland ice cap in a very distinctive way – we were literally swimming in water just a few days ago where there should have been ice.

We want to emphasize the point that sustainability is interconnected with economics and society. These things work together, and we in Western Europe must stop using the resources of three planets and start using the resources of the one we have.
 
What tips would you give to aspiring adventurers?
 
Well, adventure tourism is growing at a massive rate. You can come to Greenland and do a fairly serious expedition, but you have to pay something like $9000. But there’s a sea change when you move from that to the really big stuff. For that you need money, sponsors. The dynamics change.

You see gimmicky things dressed up as adventure, like “the first transvestite to reach Everest”, et cetera. But we’re very serious about what we do, and we have some serious messages.

Community Connection

You can find out more information and follow Adrian, Derek, and Devon’s progress on the expedition’s blog, www.greenlandquest.com.

Photo: H Dragon

After years of watching friends train for marathons, I can say with confidence that I could not run one. Just the thought of running 26 miles nonstop makes my knees ache. Even more than the physical fitness, I’m amazed by the mental toughness that marathoners have to conjure up to make it to the finish line.

This July, however, the US is hosting two of the world’s toughest ultramarathons, multi-day footraces that make the garden variety marathon look like a fun run. By pitting participants against extreme conditions and distances, these two races aim to answer one question: just how far can our feet take us?

Racing Through Hell: The Badwater Ultramarathon

At 135 miles (215 km) long, the Badwater Ultramarathon is about five times longer than a standard marathon. Add in the fact that it takes place in the middle of Death Valley in July, when temperatures can exceed 120 F (49 C), and its not hard to see why Badwater’s organizers refer to it as “the toughest footrace on Earth.”

Conditions at Badwater go beyond brutal: in addition to food and water, many runners bring extra pairs of shoes in increasingly larger sizes, so they can trade up as their feet swell. Competitors have 48 hours to finish; organizers expect the winner of this year’s race, which begins on July 13, to reach the finish line in 22-26 hours.

The crazy part is that for some people, once isn’t enough. In 1989, two competitors completed the first “Badwater Double” by running to the finish line and back. Their feat was followed by the first Badwater Triple in 1994 and the first Badwater Quad in 2001.

Running to Heaven: The Self-Transcendence 3100 Mile Race

There are no medals or trophies at the finish line of the Self-Transcendence 3100 Mile Race. Instead, runners come for a much more profound prize: to discover and rise above their own limits.

The Self-Transcendence race was founded in 1997 by Sri Chinmoy, a guru from Bangladesh who saw long-distance running as a path to spiritual evolution. To finish, runners have to complete 5,649 laps around the course, which covers a block in Queens. At 3,100 miles (4,989 km), it’s the longest footrace in the world, and can take 50 or more days to complete.

This year’s edition of the race began on June 14. As of Wednesday, 9 out of the 12 runners had reached the halfway point.

Community Connection

What do you think – would you rather “run to heaven” or “race through hell”? Tell us your pick in the comments section!